RACE, CLASS, CITIZENSHIP AND SPORTS IN AMERICA

DR. DON SCHWARTZDECEMBER 12, 2012

JOHN L. SULLIVAN “GENTLEMAN” JIM CORBETT

CARLISLE INDIAN SCHOOL

THE EVOLUTION OF THE INDIANCartoon in N.Y. World, 1896

CHARLES ALBERT “CHIEF” BENDER

• “because there was so little racial prejudice in the game. . . . There has been scarcely a trace of sentiment against me on account of birth. I have been treated the same as other men.”

JIM THORPE

• It makes sense to teach a child to play dominoes or chess. But what is the point of a crazy game like baseball? The children can get crippled. . . . Here in educated America adults play baseball. They run after a leather ball like children. I want my boy to grow up to be a mensch, not a wild American runner. But he cries his head off.

ANDY COHEN

BOXING

JACK JOHNSON

1936 BERLIN OLYMPICS

JESSE OWENS

MOSES “FLEET” WALKER

• “race prejudice exists in professional baseball ranks to a marked degree, and the unfortunate son of Africa who makes his living as a member of a team of White professionals has a rocky road to travel.” – The Sporting News